In This Newsletter:
Welcome Dr. Riofrancos!
2
Farewell Dr. Romans
2
Upcoming Events-Mark your Calendars! 3-4
A Look Back on Jon Stewart’s Career
5
Israeli Elections-Voting for Status Quo?
6
Spring 2015 Subfield Courses
9
Fall 2015 Course Listings
10
Politicus
Spring 2015
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Providence College Political Science Department
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Howley Hall third floor will experience departures, returns, and arrivals over the next few months.
First, two amiable visiting professors: Dr. Angela Gapa and Dr. Casey Stevens, will be departing at the
end of this semester. We were quite fortunate to have both of them with us this year to fill in the gaps
in our teaching ranks due to multiple sabbaticals and leaves. Having excellent visiting faculty like Drs.
Gapa and Stevens allowed us to offer a number of courses normally not available to our students.
Thanks to Dr. Gapa we were able to provide our students with her insights into the fascinating politics
of Africa. Dr. Stevens taught the American Foreign Policy course and International Law and Organization, both which have not been offered in a while, as well as teaching Latin American Politics. We are
grateful to both for being with us this semester and offering their unique expertise to our students.
We hope, as they move on to the next step in their academic careers, that they will take with them
fond memories of their time at Providence College. We certainly will remember the good they did for
our academic community this year.
One special departure at the end of this year will be the retirement of Dr. Neil Romans. His retirement
has a special poignancy for me personally as he is the last of the colleagues who were on the political
science faculty when I joined in 1974. I will miss our many hallway chats about the continuing absurdities of Rhode Island politics. Read more about Professor Romans in this issue.
In regard to returns, several department faculty members will be coming back to their Hawley offices
next fall. Dr. Julia Jordan-Zachery will be back from what, I am sure, was a productive Spring sabbatical offering PSC 380 Gender and Politics fall semester. After a yearlong sabbatical which included
trips to China and Paris plus intense work on a new book, Dr. Susan McCarthy will return to PC classrooms to teach PSC 250 Comparative Politics, PSC 325 Comparative Revolutions along with a Capstone
on Global Politics of Religion. Dr. Ruth Ben-Artzi will return from maternity leave (and quality time
with a beautiful new baby) to teach PSC 207 and a section of PSC 361 International Politics of the Middle East – just in time to bring students up to date on the turbulent events of that region. Dr. Mary
Bellhouse will be on sabbatical next Fall, but we anticipate her return in the Spring to teach, along with
sections of Modern Theory, her popular course on Politics and Culture of the 1960s.
And, finally, we look forward to the arrival of our new political science faculty member Dr. Thea
Riofrancos about whom you can read more on the next page. We are quite fortunate to have her as
part of third floor Howley learning community.
Thanks, as always, to Mrs. Emerald Ortiz and the several student assistants who put together this issue
of Politicus. Good luck with course registration and best wishes for happy and productive final weeks
(and warm snow-less weather!) of this academic year.
Professor Hudson
Welcome Professor Riofrancos
A new member of the department faculty will
join us in September. Dr. Thea Riofrancos, pictured at left, will be teaching PSC 344—
Democratic Theory and PSC 336 Latin American
politics. Dr. Riofrancos looks forward to leading next year’s group of Model OAS students
and, in the future, developing new student
learning opportunities in Latin America. For
the past few years, she has been conducting
research in Ecuador on political conflict surrounding national mining policies including
their impact on the environment and indigenous peoples.
Dr. Riofrancos is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International
Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Previously, she was a graduate fellow in the
Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism at the University of Pennsylvania and held a one-year appointment as a visiting scholar at the Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in Quito. She received her PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in the summer of 2014. She received her BA (Phi Beta Kappa)
from Reed College in 2006, where she majored in political science.
Farewell Dr. Romans
Dr. Neil Romans will retire at the end of this semester after a
48 year career on the Providence College faculty. During his
years at PC, Dr. Romans has been our expert in both Legislative Politics and Constitutional Law and, for many years,
taught American Political Theory. He also has taught the intro
Politics class and American Government and Politics. His classes always have been known for the lively debates that he encourages among his students. His Civil Liberties classes especially have challenged students to think through the intricacies and nuances of this
important subject. Along with his teaching, Dr. Romans has served the department in
multiple ways from overseeing book orders for the library to helping to shape the evolution of our curriculum. His office, most recently in the Northeast corner of Howley
third floor, has continually welcomed many students and faculty colleagues through
an always open door. As he moves into retirement, we are thankful to Dr. Romans for
his years of service to our students and for all that he has contributed to the Political
Science Department over the years. Best Wishes!
2
Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events
Registration Info Session
PSC 101 and PSC 102 pre-registration sign up April 9, 2015 4:00pm in Harkins Hall
300
Information will be given regarding courses offered next semester. Political Science
Faculty members will be in attendance and available to answer questions regarding
Fall 2015 course offerings. Come and find out about the exciting line up of courses
for next semester. Professor Hudson, Political Science Department Chair, along with
other faculty members will be available to advise on major and minor requirements.
Pi Sigma Alpha Induction Ceremony
The Epsilon Chi Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha will be hosting their annual induction ceremony on April 11, 2015 in Aquinas Lounge at 2:00pm. All new Fall 14 and Spring 15
members will receive their certificates and all class of 2015 members will receive
their graduation chords and medallions. Any class of 2015 member unable to attend
should contact Mrs. Emerald Ortiz, department Administrative Assistant at 401-8652434 or [email protected] to set up a time to pick up their graduation
materials.
Grad School Info Session
Dr. Matthew Guardino will be meeting with all students interested in pursuing
Graduate School on April 13, 2015 at 6:00pm in Howley 300 (Conference Room)
Refreshments will be provided. (flyers and emails will be sent prior to the event)
Mark your Calendars for these Upcoming Events
Pi Sigma Alpha event
“Politics and Journalism in the Age of Social Media” event on April 20, 2015 at
6:00pm, location TBD.
Refreshments will be provided. (flyers and emails will be sent prior to the event)
Fr. Ed Cleary Memorial Lecture
The Political Science Department and the Latin American Studies Program are pleased
to announce that the third annual Edward Cleary, O.P. Memorial Lecture will feature
world-renowned Peruvian theologian and Dominican friar, Gustavo Gutierrez, O.P.
and will occur on Monday, April 27, 2015. The Cleary Lecture was established in
memory of our late colleague and prolific Latin American scholar Fr. Ed Cleary who
served the College as Professor of Political Science and Director of Latin American
Studies from 1994 until his retirement in 2011.
The Cleary Lecture series intends to bring the our campus each year a distinguished
scholar of Latin American society who shares Fr. Cleary's passion for the region and
his commitment to human rights, social justice, and human liberation.
(flyers and emails will be sent prior to the event)
Senior Reception
The Political Science department will be hosting the annual Senior Reception to recognize all graduating Political Science majors, minors and Public Administration certificate recipients. We will recognize the majors with the highest GPA’s as well as all of
the department’s class of 2015 Student Employees. The event will take place on Friday,
May 15, 2015 at 3pm in Aquinas Lounge.
(flyers and emails will be sent prior to the event)
3
No longer The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
On February 10th, political comedian Jon Stewart shocked
the American people when he suddenly announced his retirement
from his legendary fake news show, The Daily Show. It will be
hard to imagine the late night comedy line-up without Stewart’s
satirical spin on the daily headlines. Anchoring the show for the
past sixteen years, Stewart has covered a wide range of topics including the “Indecision” of the 2000 Presidential Election, the September 11th attacks, the War in Iraq, and the 2008 financial meltdown, as well as yesterday’s news and everything in-between.
During the tenure of Jon Stewart, the Daily Show has won 18 Emmy Awards for excellence in television.
Stewart has attained a great deal of popularity among young people. According to a Pew Research Poll,
the majority of his viewers are between the ages of 18 and 49. This popularity among America’s youth has
brought the political issues of the day to the forefront of pop-culture by making the stories more understandable
and ultimately influencing their views on the issues. He has been able to cement his popularity even more with
his published satirical books.
Over the years, a large number of celebrities have appeared on The Daily Show. For instance, President
Obama, President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Senator John McCain, Paul McCartney, LeBron James and so many
more have been interviewed by Stewart. Interestingly, former members of the cast on the show include wellknown comedians like Steve Carell, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Larry Wilmore.
There is no disputing Stewart’s lasting impact on the political standing of the country. Stewart’s former
correspondents have found success in following his lead of political satire. John Oliver is now the host of the
extremely popular political satire show, Last W eek Tonight. Following the wild success of his show, The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert is slated to take over for the legendary David Lettermen on The Late Show. Also,
Larry Wilmore recently launched his own political satire show called The Nightly Show.
Aside from his role in shaping late night television, Stewart has had a significant impact on a number of
political issues. The James Zadroga A ct, for instance, would have expanded death benefits to families of 9/11
workers who died from cancer or respiratory diseases. After Senate Republicans filibustered the bill, it ultimately failed. Stewart came right out after the vote and publically attacked these actions and raised public awareness
for the issue. A week later, the Senate then passed the bill following mounting political pressure. In 2009, Stewart had Maziar Bahari, an Iranian journalist, on his show. When he returned to Iran, he was arrested on charges
of espionage and sentenced to prison. Stewart and other reporters closely followed the case on their respective
shows and in 2011, he was ultimately released. In 2013, Stewart took a twelve-week break from the show to
direct a movie about Bahari’s time in prison. Finally, Stewart has called for the media to be more responsible for
their coverage. In 2004, Stewart appeared on the CNN show Crossfire and criticized the show. Not long afterwards, the show was canceled.
There is no doubt that Jon Stewart has played a massive role in American pop-culture and politics. With
his impending retirement approaching, a number of questions arise. Will the late night political satire show still
thrive? Who will replace Jon Stewart on the show? Will young people still be engaged in the news? What will
Jon Stewart do next? It will surely be heartbreaking to see Jon leave, but there is no doubt about what he has accomplished and will still accomplish to keep the American people laughing and engaged in politics.
-Joe Clancy, ‘18
4
Israeli Elections: Voting for Status Quo?
Tom Andrikopoulos, ‘16
Israeli voters made little change in the most
recent round of elections, which were held
Tuesday, March 17th. Despite reports of a
close race between Benjamin Netanyahu’s
Likud party and Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union, voters elected to maintain Likud’s con-
trol of the Knesset, Israel’s legislative body.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will likely feature several right-wing parties besides his own
Likud, including Yisrael Beiteinu and the Jewish Home party, as well as two religious parties. To
reach the threshold of government control, the new coalition will likely feature center-right party Kulanu, which focused heavily on economic issues during the campaign. Although the elections initially garnered much attention in the U.S. news media, the final results will likely have
little effect on the overall trajectory of politics in the region or in U.S.-Israeli relations.
Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time in proclaiming what he called “a huge victory” after
the Tuesday elections. Drawing on familiar themes from his campaign, he announced, “I am
proud of the Israeli people that, in the moment of truth, knew how to separate between what’s
important or what’s not...for the most important thing
for all of us, which is real security, social economy
and strong leadership”. The victory affords Netanyahu the ability to continue key policies, including a
hard line on Iran’s nuclear aspirations and quashing
any discussion about negotiations with the Palestinians. Opponents had hoped to restart negotiations
with the Palestinians by curtailing Israeli settlements,
and repair relations with the Obama Whitehouse,
whose relations with Netanyahu have been frosty at
best. In the meantime, however, they will have to
wait for the next opportunity for change.
Source: The Economist
5
Forand Research Program
Information, Timetable, and Application Process
Overview
The Political Science Department’s Forand Research Program awards a scholarship of
$1,000 to seniors majoring in Political Science, and awards up to $500 to support a research project for those students. The number of Forand Research Scholars depends on
the funds available in the Forand Scholarship Fund, donated in the memory of Congressman Forand by his family. The program supports students who will undertake a research
project in a public policy area of their own choosing that will contribute to community improvement in Providence, the state of Rhode Island, or elsewhere in Southern New England.
Students interested in receiving this scholarship and support should talk to the Department Chair for more information.
Timetable
Students interested in participating in the Forand Research Program should talk with a faculty member in their Junior year. Students need to identify a faculty member who will direct and advise their research project, which will be undertaken during the Senior year.
Students must produce a research proposal describing the project, its goals and objectives,
its significance academically, and its potential impact in the community.
Application Process
With a proposal in hand, a faculty mentor identified, and the research proposal approved
by the faculty mentor, the student will apply for the program late in their Junior year by
meeting with the Department Chair. The Chair, in consultation with an advisory group of
faculty and community members, will announce the Forand Scholarships on or around July
1.
Implementation
Working with the faculty mentor, the student will begin the research project as soon as
practical during the Senior year. Normally, students will enroll in one Independent Studies
course (PSC 490) during either semester of the Senior year, the course to be conducted by
the student’s faculty mentor. Students also have the option of incorporating the Forand
research into an Honors Thesis, providing they meet the requirements of this program.
Students can consult the PSC Department Chair to find out about these requirements.
The research project will be complete when the results have been written in the form of a
research paper. Students will also be asked to make a short presentation in the Spring of
their senior year. The department will retain copies of these research papers.
For more information, contact Dr. William E. Hudson, [email protected]
Forand Scholar Research Presentation
Andrew Sayer will be making his Forand Research presentation on Tuesday, April
29, 2015 at 4:30 pm in Ruane 206. All members of the Political Science Department community are welcome to attend.
The following are the students who will be acknowledged at this year’s Pi Sigma Alpha induction ceremony on April
11, 2015. Any senior unable to attend should contact Emerald Ortiz at [email protected] to set up a
time to pick up your certificates, chord and medallion.
Class of 2015 new members:
Class of 2016 new members:
Cayla Barbour
Thomas Andrikopoulos
Elyse Butterworth
Jessica James
John Bugnacki
Austin King
Kevin Donovan
Kimberly Lynch
Kelly Ann Girandola
Caroline McDonnell
Mark Hamilton
Alexander Nunnelly
Zachary Keefe
Mary Smith
Aubrey Moore
Katelyn Sudlik
Emily Morin
Hailey Tavares
Matthew Pavia
Daniel Tosiano
Clare Plassche
Jamie Wilson
Emily Reers
Nathan Rosadini
Nicholas Rossini
Andrew Sayer
Greta Schaaf
Alexia Shea
Kevin Sullivan
Political Science majors are required to take at least one course from each of the traditional fields of the discipline: political theory, American politics, comparative politics, and international relations. Students have a
choice among multiple courses to meet these requirements. Listed below are the courses offered Fall semester
2015 that meet the various field requirements. Taking any of the courses listed under the particular field will
satisfy the requirement.
Political Theory
PSC 341 Classical Political Theory
PSC 344 Democratic Theory
Comparative Politics
PSC 205 Comparative Politics
PSC 325 Comparative Revolutions
PSC 336 Latin American Politics
International Relations
PSC 207 International Relations
PSC 361 International Politics of the Middle East
American Politics
PSC 201 American Government and Politics
PSC 211 Public Administration
PSC 311 Constitutional Law
Fall 2015 Course Offerings in Political Science
***Check Cyberfriar for the most up-to-date course listings***
Course Number
PSC 101 001
PSC 101 002
PSC 101 003
PSC 101 004
PSC 101 005
PSC 101 006
PSC 102 001
PSC 102 002
PSC 201 001
PSC 201 002
PSC 205 001
PSC 207 001
PSC 207 002
PSC 211 001
PSC 217 001
PSC 311 001
PSC 325 001
PSC 336 001
PSC 341 001
PSC 344 001
PSC 344 002
PSC 361 001
PSC 380 001
PSC 419 001
PSC 450 001
PSC 470 001
PSC 470 002
PSC 470 003
PSC 488 001
PSC 488 002
Course Title
Politics
Politics
Politics
Politics
Politics
Politics
Empirical Analysis
Empirical Analysis
American Government & Politics
American Government & Politics
Comparative Politics
International Relations
International Relations
Public Administration
Environmental Politics
American Constitutional Law crosslist AMS
Comparative Revolutions
Latin American Politics
Classical Political Theory
Democratic Theory
Democratic Theory
International Politics of Middle East
Gender and Politics crosslist WMS & BLS
Public Program Evaluation
Political Science Internship
ST: Social Media, Rebellion & the Power of Youth crosslist BLS
ST: Surveillance and Freedom in World Politics
ST: Globalization
Capstone: Mass Media, Political Economy & Pol Power
Capstone: Global Politics of Religion
Series
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Joe Cammarano
STAFF
Doug Blum
Doug Blum
STAFF
STAFF
Matt Guardino
Matt Guardino
Adam Myers
Adam Myers
Susan McCarthy
Ruth Ben-Artzi
Ruth Ben-Artzi
Joe Cammarano
Tony Affigne
STAFF
Susan McCarthy
Thea Riofrancos
Rick Battistoni
Thea Riofrancos
Thea Riofrancos
Ruth Ben-Artzi
Julia Jordan-Zachery
Adam Myers
Bill Hudson
Tony Affigne
Tony Affigne
Doug Blum
Matt Guardino
Susan McCarthy
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Law Course Offerings
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LAW 201 001 General Law
LAW 201 002 General Law
Course Title (limit 30 characters)
Ilisabeth Bornstein
Patricia McLaughlin